


The Season of Miracles

by WithoutForesight



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Still Underground, They don’t celebrate Gyftmas in UF, theyre getting there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28326234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WithoutForesight/pseuds/WithoutForesight
Summary: Edge reminisces about time spent in Tale and learning about this odd holiday of theirs, and the changes it seems to have brought with it.
Relationships: Papyrus/Papyrus (Undertale), Spicyhoney
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	The Season of Miracles

The snow reflected the lights lining the buildings of Snowdin in a prismatic display of colors.The snow here was white, so pure and light, absent of the dense, ashy texture of his own home’s.The gentle breeze lacked the wicked bite of the air in Fell, as well, carrying the sounds of laughter and conversation instead of suspicious whispers and screams of pain.

As a matter of fact, with seemingly every resident of the town filtering around the main throughway, the ever increasing noise of their cheer and holiday busy making was overwhelming, compared to the tense silence that he was significantly more used to when leaving for or returning from patrols. 

Children playing, shrieking their amusement, only served to chill him to the marrow, well wishers brushing past him with a simple clasp of his shoulder made his magic _crawl_.It was too much.Even with the gradually increasing exposure to the bizarre ways of this Underground, this social event superseded uncomfortable with entirely nerve wracking.

Rus and Blue had insisted it was important he and his brother not miss ‘their first honorary Gyftmas tree-lighting’, and given how much they were indebted to the ‘Tale’ brothers for taking them in after being trapped here, he found it impossible to refuse.But with LV roiling dangerously close to the surface, burning through his rib cage and up his throat, down his arms to the very tips of his fingers, he’d needed to get away from the hustle of the street fair and give himself the chance to adjust.As much as he could.For now.

Anything to prevent an outburst was preferable.Here, the monsters weren’t afraid of him.And as... _annoying_ , as he found their optimistic attitudes, he certainly didn’t want to _hurt_ any of them.

So.Sitting alone on the furthest out bench he could find, he focused on breathing as he watched the slow color changing bulbs casting their stained glass colors over the crystalline snow, listening to the semi-distant strains of Gyftmas music and joyous conversations.

Like this, it was almost...

Peaceful. 

“hey.”

Emphasis on _was_.

Pulling his focus from one of the currently closed store fronts, Edge looked to the monster walking toward him.The monster he’d _so_ incredibly tentatively been improving his relationship with over the span of the past few weeks.Stretch strolled over as casually as ever, bundled up in an obnoxiously orange and white sweater, red and green striped scarf looped around his neck, with a knitted cap to match, two paper cups in his mittened hands.

“you looked like you could use a drink,” he joked lightly, sitting on the unoccupied side of the bench.

Quirking a brow bone to his alternate, he glared at the cup being offered to him, “If that’s what I think it is, you can take that cup and-“

“relax, edgelord,” Stretch’s smile curved up more, amusement in his eyes, “it’s coffee.” 

When Edge made no move to accept it, looking to Stretch with a tired expression he hoped conveyed how much he trusted that, Stretch rolled his eyes with a breath of laughter.Placing his own cup between his knees, he removed the lid off the other, revealing a dark, thin liquid, “black.”

After another beat, Edge carefully took the cup, and the lid, snapping it back into place with a soft thanks.Over the past few weeks, he’d been forced to taste enough sugary beverages to last him the rest of his life, welcoming the idea of something not seasonally flavored for once.

That was enough to satisfy the other, retrieving his own beverage, that was most likely more than sweet enough to make up for his, and settled back to take in the scenery for himself.

Drawing his weary eyelights to the cup in his hands, he took a hesitant sip, relief as warming as the drink itself that it really _was_ just coffee.Coming from Stretch, he honesty couldn’t have been certain.Despite not being as prank prone as their brothers, it seemed Edge has the unique ability to bring out the absolute worst in his lackadaisical counterpart.

The first few months they’d been stuck in this timeline, it was by the grace of the Angel Edge hadn’t snapped and strangled him to dust, or taken a karma filled bone through his soul.The others had tried to play mediator, but to no avail, and with his temper frayed from the stress of abandoning his own world, with no clear date yet on when they could return, he would admit he hadn’t exactly been his most peaceable.But Stretch had decided the moment they met he hated Edge, and religiously antagonized him at any given opportunity.

The more he found to do here to keep himself tempered, the more exhausting it became, and he began simply avoiding Stretch.It wasn’t fair to the others to constantly fill the house with their swipes, choke the atmosphere with his LV.And things between them became about the only normal feeling part in this whole situation.He was at least used to being hated, though that sentiment usually coincided with fear, so the prodding was...an unwelcome difference.

However, the past month, something had changed.

Stealing a small glance at the calm monster beside him staring wistfully into the slight snowfall, the contented smile he wore was so significantly different than the harsh smirk Edge had grown accustomed to.

The past month, ever since Rus had declared it officially ‘Gyftmas time’, the others had been trying their damndest to teach him and his brother about this odd holiday their own timeline simply didn’t celebrate.Not that they celebrated _any_ holidays, but this one in particular had the others completely worked up at the very _thought_ of their counterparts not taking part in it.

As the month carried on, with the baking, shopping, making, decorating, he’d been trying his damndest to keep up, figure things out, everything was so _backwards_ from his own home, the ideals the others wanted so badly to impart on them were almost incomprehensible.It honestly still seemed ridiculous to him.But with practice, it’s become easier to humor them.And he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t... _not_ terrible.He didn’t _hate_ it.

Apparently, neither did Stretch.Even _he_ seemed to be in better spirits, jabbing less, doing more, the dark smudges beneath his eye sockets lightening somewhat.Gradually, he even...started being... _nice_.Or at least, tolerable.Edge hadn’t trusted it at first, even more guarded and sharp with him.But with what... _seemed_ to be a sincere apology, and encouragement from Rus and Blue, the both of them had managed to set aside the metaphorical hatchet.Not buried, not yet.Edge still wasn’t convinced Stretch wouldn’t just shift back into his more insufferable persona once this holiday thing passed.

But for now at least, he was willing to meet him halfway.Letting the comfortable silence breathe between them, watching the the festive scene, he let his sockets drift shut, listening.

After a moment, he felt Stretch shift, eyes blinking open, looking to him as he took a sip from his beverage, sighing a cloud of vapor.His smile was relaxed, but his eyes were distant, voice low as he started speaking.

“might not make a lot of sense,” his smile slanted, breaking the daze to glance to Edge, “this place really is pretty different from me ‘n my bro’s.but this?”gesturing to the bustling town as he returned his focus there, “reminds me a lot of home.complete with the screaming children ‘n everything.”

Turning a humored smile to Edge, he found himself feeling...odd.Like that kindness wasn’t for him.It felt...isolating, his brow bones knitting into a thoughtful glare as he looked back away.

The air sobered around them, sending a pulse of regret through his soul for chilling Stretch’s uncharacteristic warmth.But after another moment, he spoke again, voice softer.

“i know this isn’t exactly your scene, but ya gotta admit, they did a nice job on the lights, yeah?”

Neither turned to meet the other’s eyes, growing lost in thought, Stretch reminiscing, Edge trying to understand the sentiment.Yet he found himself unable to agree, not when the ghost of his own Snowdin lingered in his mind.Guilty to be here, in such an easy world.

“Thank you,” his voice low, he tipped his cup in gesture, looking to Stretch, “for the coffee.”

“hm?”Strangely enough, Stretch’s smile had fallen, but coming back to himself as he looked to Edge, it reappeared easily, “yeah, no problem.”

His eyes lingered on Edge when he took another sip of the drink, only looking away when Edge sent him a curious glance.Even considering their more agreeable behavior, Stretch was acting...differently.Friendly, even.

Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his legs, Stretch exhaled a laugh, shaking his head as it fell forward, and just like that, Edge was on guard again, shoulders tensing imperceptibly.He waited for the joke, the dig, the exasperated admittance that Stretch hated this whole amicable charade.

But instead, Stretch only sighed, keeping his attention forward as he spoke, “to tell you the truth, i kinda thought you were really gunna hate all this...stuff.”

It wasn’t a jab per se, just...an observation, of sorts.Just...conversation, right?Edge blinked down to the drink in his hands and repeated Stretch’s intonation in his mind.Unmocking, sincere.

“Yes, well...” Edge fixed his posture, carefully keeping his tone light, “I never said I didn’t.” 

That earned a more proper chuckle, Stretch turning a warm smile briefly back toward him.Another calm silence fell between them for a moment, watching the festivities both more present than before, the spell of the past broken.

“It’s not too bad, all things considered,” tone level, Edge kept his voice low.“Barring the screaming children, of course,” he amended.

Stretch breathed another amused huff at that, finishing his drink before agreeing, “not too bad at all.”

They watched together for another few minutes before Stretch turned toward Edge, sitting up, as straight as his poor posture ever allowed.

“we should probably head back over.rus’d hate for you to miss your first real tree lighting.”

Humming his consideration, Edge finished the coffee, casting a sarcastic look to Stretch, “And we wouldn’t want that, would we.”

Stretch’s eyes were once again lit with humor as he stood, waiting a bit as Edge followed suit, walking back into town together.

Perhaps the idea of Gyftmas bringing about miracles wasn’t as far fetched as he’d initially believed.

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually a hyper condensed version of a fic I wanted to really flesh out, starting with the declaration of Gyftmas time and following how things change over the span of the two months til Gyftmas! So maybe next year, I’ll be able to do the whole thing properly! In the meantime, I hope anyone who reads this has/had a wonderful holiday!! 💙


End file.
